So... anyone had a diagnosis? Anyone in the process of finding out about this? We have an appointment in 2 months time to get Matilda assessed. The OT thinks she has some vestibular disorder, and definately some tactile issues...
Ashy has never had an actual 'diagnosis' but is curretnly seeing a psychologist/cognitive bahaviour therapist to help her learn to cope with her 'sensory issues'
While there is no set 'tag' for her at the moment, its a case of yes she is displaying sensory processing problems, she is pedantic and particular and yes we need to work with her to help her over come these prpblems. Its not a case of 'fixing' something, its more like helping us all deal with these issues.
She loves the appointments, they are lots of fun for her and they are defiantely helping her. We still have issues, but not like we used to. She has been going for a few months now, she's been about 4 time i think??
I'd love to hear more about the assessment. I saw a peadiatrician that said there was nothing wrong at all and I wanted to cry at the end of it, I felt like I was completely dismissed. This therapist I see now was the first person to actually listen to me and take it all seriouslly and say yes, there is a problem and now we need to look at how we can help it. She was also shocked that the peadiatrician said everything was okay.
Dee, thats what happened with me at first, was a paed saying there was nothing wrong. I felt dismissed as well. Our close friend is getting a PhD atm in OT and specialising in developmental behaviour. I asked her about Matilda's "quirky" behaviour and if there was anything I could do to help her prepare for school & she said she's been watching Matilda for a while now & is the one who recommended I look into it.
Its so frustrating isn't it Christy, when you yourself know that *something* isn't quite right but they just don't listen.
As wonderful as our therapist is I would still really like to find something that specialises in the sensory processing/integration field, but being in a small country town I so far haven't come across one.
I have honestly found the therapy we have had so far to be wonderful and kick myself for not picking up on it earlier. I always put it down to tantrums and things before I realised there was more to it and she wasn't just doing it to be difficult. Actually, the more I look into it the more I realise there are certain sensory problems I have myself, and have had since I was young but I've learnt how to deal with them, or more so avoid them. People think i'm crazy, just to me it was just how i'd always been....
Christy do you know what they do in the assessment and how the assess the children??
Hi Christy, not sure if it is the same thing but we are about to start the assessment process for DS looking at sensory perception/sensory motor perception disorder ? can't remember the exact title too many big words. Same reason, want to help him cope better at school. Not much help as we are still looking into it
We are in the waiting game atm. Monnie I will definately have a look for that book, I think it will help us understand... it gets confusing when they throw around words like Autism and Aspergers and yet they don't explain the wide range of those conditions.
*hugs* Christy... it must be hard to have such a long wait, but I hope you do get some answers.
I hadn't heard of sensory integration before, so I googled it and have been having a bit of a read. Its quite interesting to know about. Aidyn has a tactile issue I think(is terrified of wearing denim - and will scream the house down if you try to put him in denim pants) but I think in his case its just that isolated issue, I haven't notice anything else.
Anyway, I just want to wish you all the best with it hon... Please let us know how everything is going.
From what I understand, sensory issues are seen in kids (and adults) when they are either under sensitive or over sensitive to different types of sensory stimuli...which then results in problems for them...
So it can be like the kid who doesn't 'sense' pressure accurately...so they can be too rough, without realising it...they throw the ball too hard...push into people without meaning to...
It can be the kid who doesn't sense "tactile" information accurately...so they may be overly sensitive to fabrics that are too wooly or too stiff...they like to have their socks always pulled up...they can't bear the feeling of a tag at the back of their t-shirt...or they can't bear a certain type of touch (they often prefer deep pressure touch to gentle caressing)...
The kid who has sensory overload with sounds...so things like vacuum cleaners or planes or sudden noises are very distressing for them...
Kids who don't know 'where their body is in space'...so if they close their eyes, they can't really 'sense' where their arms/legs are...so these kids are often very fidgety and restless, trying to get 'sensory feedback' from their wriggles and squirms...
Kids who are overly sensitive to textures in their mouth...so they struggle with certain textures (e.g. lumpy foods)...
It's often hard to pinpoint what is going on (that's why an assessment is really important)...these kids often look like they are being 'naughty' or misbehaving...but really they are struggling from sensory overload or sensory understimulation...they also look like they are not paying attention...but sometimes it's because they are paying so much attention to their sensory stuff (because it's overloading their little bodies), that they can't pay attention to other stuff...
It's certainly seen in diagnoses such as autism or aspergers...but can also be a disorder just on it's own...a bit like a child might have a speech problem...
Occupational Therapists are usually the professionals that deal with sensory issues with kids...but not all of them...they often need to have specialised training...alot of the therapy they do with kids is providing them with a 'sensory diet', helping them to 'desensitise' them to sensory information...but also helping parents to recognise the 'signs'...
Hope that makes sense...
Last edited by monnie; August 1st, 2007 at 12:22 AM.
If you have an aversion to just one texture, sound etc - like labels on skin, or velvet, or concrete or fingernails down a blackboard, is that just an aversion to one thing, or a mild version of this?
The way my friend described it to me was that it was like that but more extreme and the feeling lasted longer depending on the severity. So some kids it would be like fingernails down the blackboard for a day afterwards...
Wow, that must be awful for the poor little tikes. And I can imagine how easy it would be for parents just to assume that it's just bad behaviour without understanding why. Good on you Christy for looking into this further.
Yeah...I think to have the diagnosis, the sensitivity needs to be the point that it affects daily living on a regular basis...basically that the sensory issues "get in the road" of doing what you are supposed to be doing...whether it's eating, getting dressed, playing, learning, etc.
It would be incredibly tough for these kids...especially if their behaviour is misunderstood as something else...
I remember running a group once and there was this one kid who squirmed and fidgeted to the absolute extreme...the sort of kid that would get 'told off' for not listening all the time....anyway, the OT I was working with just put two telephone books under his feet (as a footrest), he was sitting down. It was to act as a 'grounding' for him so he was getting some sense of where his body was his space...and immediately, the fidgeting stopped! Quite amazing!
WOW Monnie, thats amazing. Matilda ALWAYS gets told off for not sitting still. In fact this morning, I couldn't get her to look me in the eyes to get her to sit down to have her hair brushed (which I don't know why I even tried... I can never brush her hair without another person holding her down for me, which is awful) and I got so cross with her for not listening and for fidgeting... I got up & walked away today, but then there are so many times I fight her over simple things like listening and sitting still.
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